A delegation from the Johor government had gone to China from March 27-April 2 to woo investors. (Bernama pic)

JOHOR BAHRU: A Chinese gearbox remanufacturing company plans to open a factory costing RM28 million in Iskandar Malaysia and create more than 60 high-quality jobs for locals.

State International Trade, Investment and Utilities Committee chairman Jimmy Puah Wee Tse said discussions on the investment are in the final stages and the company is expected to invest in three phases and commence operations this year.

“The entire gearbox production by this company will be exported to the United States and the output value is expected to reach US$7 million a year,” he said in a statement today.

Puah was commenting on an investment mission to China conducted by a delegation from the Johor government from March 27-April 2.

He said the delegation also visited several custom-made furniture factories in Hangzhou and Suzhou.

“We briefed them on the advantages of investing in Johor in terms of geographical position, logistics facilities and incentives. Two furniture companies have expressed interest to expand their business to Johor,” he said.

The delegation also visited a manufacturing plant using technology 4.0, namely robotics, Internet of Things and big data in Hebei-Wuhan, he said, adding that it is China’s first furniture factory that is fully automated in its operations.

“Such a factory can be an example and inspires the furniture industry in Muar to transform their business model,” he added.

He said factories that adopt technology 4.0 not only can avoid reliance on foreign workers, but also help local entrepreneurs in producing high-quality products and minimising business costs in the long run to enhance the Muar furniture industry competitiveness globally.